Rabu, 14 Ogos 2013

Muda lagi dah pun power

Hitting a hat-trick is always guaranteed to generate headlines. Doing so
as a teenager is therefore a sure-fire way to make the entire
footballing world sit up and take notice, as evidenced by the frenzied
reaction to Zakaria Bakkali's stunning treble for PSV on Saturday
evening.

The 17-year-old's sensational exploits in the 5-0
demolition of NEC at the Philips Stadion saw him become the youngest
player to ever hit a hat-trick in the Eredivisie, while at the same time
wholly vindicating Belgium boss Marc Wilmots's decision to include him
for their friendly against France.

Of course, football is
littered with tales of players who shone ever so brightly at a young age
only to quickly burn out and fade away. However, as you can see from
below, it takes a special kind of talent to score a hat-trick aged 18 or
under .

ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO

An
18-year-old Alessandro Del Piero had already opened his Juventus
account, scoring as a substitute against Reggiana in what was just his
second appearance for the club, when he made his first start for the Bianconeri, against Parma. What happened next set Del Piero on the way to iconic status in Turin, with the trequartista
helping himself to a sublime hat-trick. Indeed, he never looked back,
going on to become Juve's record goalscorer and appearance holder, not
to mention establishing himself as one of the finest No.10s of the
modern era.

TREVOR FRANCIS

Trevor
Francis was just 16 years and 307 days old when he became the youngest
hat-trick scorer in the history of British football. The prodigiously
gifted forward didn't just net a treble, though, he scored all of
Birmingham City's goals in a 4-0 rout of Bolton on February 20, 1971. Of
course, Francis's crowning moment in the professional game would not
come until some eight years later, when he headed the winner for
Nottingham Forest in their European Cup final clash with Malmo.

JEREMY MENEZ

Sir
Alex Ferguson did his utmost to try to persuade Jeremy Menez to move to
Old Trafford before the winger deciding to remain at Sochaux and sign a
professional contract with the club at just 16 years, 10 months and 15
days old - a Ligue 1 record. The legendary Scottish boss's intense
interest in the Frenchman became perfectly understandable in January
2005 when Menez scored a hat-trick against Bordeaux - in just seven
minutes. Menez may not have quite lived up to his early promise but he
is a key player for current French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

PELE

Scoring
a hat-trick at any level is impressive but it takes a unique talent to
net a treble in a World Cup semi-final. Pele was such a talent. Of
course, the truly remarkable thing about the Brazil legend's feat was
that he was just 17 years and 244 days old when he destroyed Just
Fontaine's France 5-2 in Solna on June 24, 1958. Pele netted another two
goals in the final and a legend had well and truly been born.

WAYNE ROONEY

Ferguson
may have missed out on Menez but there was no way he was going to let
Wayne Rooney slip through his grasp. Indeed, the fearless forward was
just 18 when the United boss persuaded his employers to hand over £25.6m
for the Everton starlet. Rooney wasted little time proving that it was
money well spent, scoring a hat-trick on his United debut, a Champions
League hammering of Fenerbahce at Old Trafford. He may no longer be a
fan favourite at Old Trafford but the Rooney of 2004 remains the most
awesome teenage talents the game has ever seen.